This invention relates to a deformable reactor wherein the unburned constituents contained in the exhaust gases discharged from the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine are oxidized.
In connection with purification of the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines, it is well known in the art that, of the noxious constituents contained in the exhaust gases of the engine, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are oxidized in a reactor disposed downstream of the combustion chamber of the engine into harmless water and carbon dioxide. This oxidation reaction carried out in the reactor raises the reactor temperature to an excessively high level, but the reactor temperature is lowered and cooled when engine operation is stopped. The thermal stress depends on the excessively high temperature, and the considerable temperature change damages the reactor.